


Asian Persuasion

by Darrencrisshfp



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, M/M, Not Kurt Friendly, POV Blaine Anderson, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 13:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30005937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darrencrisshfp/pseuds/Darrencrisshfp
Summary: Rewrite of 4x22. Alternate universe where Blaine's friends had the sense to make him see reason."What do you mean Tay-Tay? Why would you think I'm joking? I brought you here to help me pick out an engagement ring for my boyfriend. Whom I intend to propose to, remember?""Yeah, see, that's where you got me confused, Blaine! You asked me to pick out a ring for your boyfriend. Last I checked you don't have one." She gives him a pointed look.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson & Tina Cohen-Chang, Blaine Anderson/Sebastian Smythe
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	Asian Persuasion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [akfanficlove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/akfanficlove/gifts).



> Tina here is basically ME.. lol. Will Blaine listen and change his mind?

Blaine has been nothing but a bundle of nerves today. On the exterior he stands as sure as one can be, oozing confidence and charisma just like on a stage with his show-face on.  
But he is not on a stage and this is not a performance. He is making one of the most crucial decisions of his life. He doesn't think he has any choice in the matter. It's a do or die situation.  
  
So he stands in front of a tasteful display of engagement rings in the best-known jewellery stores in Lima, Ohio. Tina is slouching down to take a better look at the rings. He's glad she's here as he trusts her judgment in fashion better than his own. He is also well aware of the fact that Kurt doesn't approve of his taste and he does not want to mess up by getting the wrong ring. Tina is also here because he needs the support and approval of his best friends. Sam has been less than helpful today, very vocal about his views on the whole thing in general. He understands where Sam is coming from about being “too young” to get engaged but Sam doesn't get it. He doesn't know how lonely Blaine has been, how much he had wronged Kurt by cheating on him. He has to make it right or he will never stop feeling like the bad guy. He has to get Kurt back - no matter what it takes.  
  
"So what do you think? You've been looking at those for an awfully long time." Blaine is getting more anxious by the minute.  
  
"Well if you're asking me to marry you, I'd want that big one," Tina points at the ring with the hugest solitaire, "My fingers are on the larger side and you have to figure, with my build, after we have a few babies, I may put on a couple of pounds," Tina states as a matter-of-factly.  
  
Blaine really doesn't have the patience for this today but he puts on his sweetest tone.  
  
"Tinaaaaaa! I'm looking for a ring for _Kurt_ , please stop joking."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry Blainey-days, I thought you were _joking_ _,_ too!"  
  
Blaine is a bit taken aback by her but plays it off.  
  
"What do you mean Tay-Tay? Why would you think I'm joking? I brought you here to help me pick out an engagement ring for my boyfriend. Whom I intend to _propose_ to, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, see, that's where you got me confused, Blaine! You asked me to pick out a ring for your _boyfriend_. Last I checked you don't have one." She gives him a pointed look.  
  
"Oh C'mon Tina, not you too. You sound like Sam! You know he is my soulmate, the love of my life. I have to get him back and for that, I would need a big gesture, 'it's go big or go home' for me."  
  
Blaine is getting sick of his friends today.  
  
"Oh yes! Your soulmate. Sorry, I tend to forget this part," she replied, "Your _soulmate_ who has a boyfriend in New York."  
  
"I...uh..well they are not serious!"  
  
Tina is not helping at all.  
  
"Hmmm... Maybe - or maybe they are! How do you know? Do you talk to Adam? Are you Facebook friends with him?"  
  
"Well, of course NOT! Why would _I_ be talking to him?"  
  
That sounds so ridiculous. What's she even playing at?  
  
"Exactly”, she raises an eyebrow, "so let me get this straight, Blaine: Kurt is not _your_ boyfriend, he is Adam's boyfriend, who you know nothing about. You're going to propose to the same Adam's boyfriend, _Kurt,_ who has _finally_ agreed to be your friend again. He is spending some time with you here and there while in Lima for his Dad along with helping us with the preparations for the Glee Club Regionals. Am I right?"  
  
"I mean ye.. yeah. You are right, but the way you're putting it... you do know we hooked up when Kurt was still with the Adam guy, right? Mr Schue's non-wedding, that got you all riled up. _Remember_?"  
  
Tina grabs his hand and takes him out of the jewellery store to finish this conversation since they were starting to catch a bit of attention there in the enclosed surroundings. Blaine needed some air anyway.  
  
"Oh, that must be it, Blaine. I'm not putting it right," she tsks, "I remember Mr Schue's non-wedding, _oh so well_. Kurt coming back to this poor old town from his shiny new life and boyfriend in New York. While you wait here for him, getting all excited about the prospect of being back together. You sing a very gay duet – I love you but wow, please - together with all the glee. He feels bad about how pitiful you look. A high school boyfriend pining after him, all hopeful and still deeply in love. He hooks up with you, knowing very well how emotional you can be about such things. He hangs with you a bit more or rather keeps you hanging till he leaves and goes back to his hot-as-hell British boyfriend. While Sam and I were here to collect pieces of you that were left behind."  
  
Blaine is a bit ashamed of his meltdown in front of Tina and Sam after Kurt gave him no indication that he was interested in getting back together.

  
"You've got it all wrong T. You see, I told Kurt that our hook-up meant nothing to me. It was just 'bros helping bros'. So it's not like he took advantage of my feelings for him."  
  
He hides the fact that he tried to convince Kurt after they did it that it actually meant something while Kurt gave him an expression like he was ticking off a win of his list.  
  
"How long has Kurt known you Blaine? Hmm? Even Kitty who hasn't spoken two nice words to you could tell, _from a distance_ , that it was not just a hook-up for you," she gives him a challenging glare "and Kurt couldn't tell that you were lying? He couldn't see through the whole charade, like each one of us could, with a blindfold on? You're not that good of a liar, Blaine," she shakes her head unbelievably, "Some soulmate he is..." she trails off.  
  
Where is this venom coming from? Blaine cannot fathom that for the love of God. Is it because Tina still likes him?  
  
"Okay, wow, Tina! Why are you saying all of this? I don't understand. Do you still.. I mean.. Is this about your crush on me? You said you were _way_ past that"

Tina chuckles lightly and looks completely non-perplexed.  
  
"Oh yes, _Blaine_ _,_ thanks for reminding me of my crush on you. You're very handsome, really, a perfect 10/10 I would say. I'm not the only girl who's been attracted to you. But I would rather go for the sexy, confident, and ambitious 'Dalton boy' Blaine Warbler like the evil-warbler said. Instead of the shell of the boy you've become now. Desperation is not an attractive look, Blaine." She looks directly into his eyes before closing them and pinches the bridge of her nose.  
  
Blaine can tell that Tina is realising that she's gone a bit too far. Everything she said hits a bit too close to home. He can't argue much at this point. He spent all his energy convincing Sam, he didn't think he'd face such resistance from Tina as well. He was a man on a mission today but Tina is proving to be a bigger obstacle than he gave her credit for, and why the hell is she thinking about Sebastian now?  
  
"Well, I don't know what you're trying to prove here, apart from pointing out all my obvious flaws."  
  
She looks up at him with eyes softening a bit but the look of defiance still stays.  
  
"My point here is perfectly clear. Kurt was your first relationship and boyfriend. You don't have enough experience to judge if this is 'It' for you. If you have to go to this extent to convince Kurt to get back together with you, then it doesn't seem like it's worth it."  
  
"I CHEATED on him, you don't know how much I hurt him! You should have seen his face, I was the worst boyfriend ever. I was the villain in the story, not him," he's pleading with her at this point. It wasn't Kurt's fault that Blaine cheated.  
  
"Yes, Blaine, we ALL know you cheated. You cried about it, sang songs about it, your ‘Grease’-audition was about it, your ‘Phil Collins’ guilty pleasure-performance was about it. So yeah, we all know about it. Although, I'm not sure about the last one, but that's beside the point. Right about now, almost everyone on the Glee club has cheated on someone, _including me_ , but you still rock as the poster-boy for cheating. You know why, Blaine? It's cause you and Kurt made such a big deal about it that the rest of us didn't. We are in high-school for God's sake. We make mistakes and we learn, it's part of growing up. It's time to explore and discover." Tina holds his hand and squeezes it. They have been standing there for a long time. She points to the café on the opposite side of the road and they make their way over. Blaine feels a bit drained by this point. Tina brings them back their regulars and sits down in front of Blaine.  
  
"Look, Blaine... I'm sorry for saying all this but if I don't speak my mind now, I'll have to hold my piece forever. So this is me laying it all down before it's too late. Okay? May I?" She looks at him expectantly.  
  
Blaine smiles at her even though he can barely do that anymore.  
  
"Go on, Tay-Tay. It's not like me objecting is going to stop you from speaking your mind..."  
  
"True! So tell me, why did you cheat, Blaine? Was the lighthouse guy too much of a temptation, that you couldn't resist? Were you beyond horny that day for some reason? Cause I've been your best friend for almost a year now, I haven't seen you going for a random hook up. Even when the evil-warbler with his sexy new long hair was around during Sectionals, you didn't do anything. He was totally checking you out and I didn't see you sneaking around with him. You weren't even in a relationship then. So what happened that you decided to cheat on _the love of your life_?”  
  
Why is she back on _Sebastian_ again? What is this obsession with the 'evil-warbler' thing?

  
"It's _not_ like that, Tina. I didn't do it cause I was horny. I was... I was just.... sort of lost," his eyes are burning with tears now and his throat seems to be closing up but he continues anyway, "Kurt was in New York and it seemed to me that he had forgotten all about me, I felt so insignificant. I mean I understood, he had his new internship and all. Yet, everything around him seemed so big that I felt too tiny to even be noticed some days."  
  
He blinks back the tears that are threatening to escape. Talking about that dark period in his life has never been easy. It was only logical that he never discussed it with Tina in detail but now it feels like he should have.  
  
She nods her head in agreement, giving him a sympathetic look, but still keen on hearing the truth. Blaine is pretty sure now, that even if he started howling and crying very loudly, Tina would not change her mind about having this conversation today.  
  
"It's clear to me that you were unhappy, Blaine. You can't even talk about it without tearing up. I'm no shrink but even a high-school student, aka ME, can see you were facing abandonment issues. Sam told me that Kurt didn't even pick up your phone calls when you called him about your presidential victory. You had to lie to Sam about that first. What I don't understand is that Kurt wasn't even at NYADA then, he was doing an unpaid internship at Vogue and he couldn't even find 5 minutes in the day to listen to his boyfriend, I'm sorry I meant _soulmate_? I remember how much fuss he created when he was fighting for the same election and didn't even end up winning. You were there for him every step of the way. What changed so much in a span of less than a year that your life started to seem so inconsequential to him? Long-distance isn't easy but it shouldn't hurt this much."  
  


Every time Tina mocks the word soulmate, Blaine repents it ever mentioning it to her.

"No, I didn't know Kurt was my soulmate until I... I mean..I did it with that guy. It was only afterward that I knew how much Kurt meant to me."  
  
"Oh, you mean the guilt you felt after cheating on him? The self-sabotaging you did there. You went to get rid of the pain you were feeling. Sex and pleasure made you numb for however long it lasted and your pain returned along with the guilt."  
  
  
"It's not just the guilt, I _do_ love him so much."  
  
"Oh, I don't doubt that _you_ love him, Blaine. I don't even doubt that you'd make the best boyfriend ever if he gave you a chance again that is. But to offer a proposal to him, at this age. He's awfully ambitious, Blaine, he has a lot to prove, take risks and chances that weren't an option for him in Lima. I think it's unfair of you to tie him down to yourself, especially in this manner. I know Kurt. I know he plans to be the biggest star on Broadway possible and be married by **_30_**. He wants love in his life but his life doesn't revolve around that. You on the other hand have a completely different outlook."  
  
"You're being completely unfair here. My life doesn't revolve around _love_ only. I have dreams, I want to go to NYADA, be big on Broadway, too."

He is feeling a bit attacked now. He wants to leave Tina and run away from here as far as possible but... instead, he stays put... and... listens. He wants to know what others think of him and his relationship.  
  
"It is though? Are NYADA and New York your dream? Or are they your dream because they are Kurt's dream? NYADA's where Kurt's going now, that's why you want to go, too? I've never seen you pick a show tune for your solos. You are more of a top 40s guy. You don't worship Broadway, like Rachel Berry. Is this another part of the 'get Kurt back plan' if the proposal fails?"  
  
"You can't say that. You don't know what I wanna do with my future. And NO, it's not"  
  
Blaine is indignant. Tina doesn't know what Blaine wants to do, even Blaine is not sure what Blaine wants to do, but he's not going to admit this to Tina's smug face right now.  
  
"You're right, Blaine. I don't know what you want to do, but I do know what you _did_. You left your good private school education to go to our not-so-great public school for your boyfriend. You played the part of a supportive boyfriend while Kurt spent his whole year planning to get into NYADA to ditch this shit hole as quick as possible. While you were left behind in _his_ old school with no friends cause you were busy doing things for Kurt, while he was still here. You didn't even bother to make a single friend. 'BLAMTINA' we only became the iconic trio," she grins at her portmanteau, "after Kurt left. I was kinda surprised when you stayed back at Mc Kinley after your break-up with Kurt. I was insanely happy about that, I won't deny but surprised nonetheless. Weren't the Warblers your _family_ that never fought like us New Directioners, as you proudly rub it in our faces so many times?"  
  
Blaine just looks at her with eyes wide. He feels like he's going to get sick. He asked her to select a ring for Kurt. He didn't sign up for a detailed therapy session where it's the shrink that does the most talking and not the patient. Yet... he can't deny she has given him a lot to think about. Maybe this proposal idea isn't as great as he originally thought. He needs to go back and sleep on it.

They find Sam on their way back who was just joining them for the ring shopping to support Blaine, how half-heartedly it might've been.

********************

Few days after the conversation with Tina, Blaine gathers some courage and enters Dalton. As he is walking towards the practice room he hears a few harmonies getting louder. He leans on one of the doors and watches his brothers performing 'The way you make me feel' by Michael Jackson. “Ironic”, he thinks and bites his lip. Sebastian turns around and is the first one to notice him just like the last time when he joined them during 'Uptown Girl'. This time, instead of taking his hand and urging him to join, everybody just stops dead in their track and stares at him. This makes him feel more than just uncomfortable.

“Blaine, hey!” Trent was the one who spoke first.

“Hi guys, I just came to see how you guys were doing and... Uhm... also to invite you for our Regionals performance. If that's still cool. I mean, of course, that is if you guys are free at all.

“We'll be there! Once a Warbler always a Warbler, right?” Of course, it was Sebastian who said this.

All Blaine can do at this point is smile and nod his head.

“Even if the said Warbler rats you out?” Thad chirps in with a coy smile on his face.

“Just give me a chance. Will you?”

Thad jumps at Blaine, giving him the bear hug of his life and the rest of them greet him with equal, if not more, vigour.

_Maybe_ he doesn't need to be engaged or be anyone's boyfriend to be happy. _Maybe_ he and Kurt will give each other a chance in the future or maybe they won't. _Maybe_ he will find someone, he will be more compatible with, in the end. _Maybe_ LA will be more of his dream than New York. He doesn't know what the future holds but he knows he is happy right now. He will work on the friendships he left behind in pursuit of a relationship. As his new therapist says ( _no, not Tina, a real one):_ Baby-Steps...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. You can find me on Tumblr: blaine-anderson-smythe  
> Instagram: @darrencrisshfp


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